Who else is releasing next week? Does she stand a chance of debuting at number 1? :P

I was thinking something along the same lines when someone called out the presence of Louis Vuitton. There’s some highly inauthentic, artificial, and manufactured about that and then this message coming from ayu. She has a right to enjoy her luxuries but the image she portrays now is so unattainable, it doesn’t feel believable when she touts lyrics in songs like this…

MISIA has an all time best coming, so Ayu is probably not number 1.

Oh well. There's also back number's new album 2nd week... *sigh*

I also really wish the drums were louder. But I like the song overall.

The song is delightful. The arrangement, her vocal... just everything goes so well together.

I like the song and love the concept of the pv that reflects the "being simple (and simply) as you are" of the song and I like that Ayu is not the main actress here because she is speaking to minorities. Indeed the lyrics is dedicate to a "you" that, yes, could be her speaking to herself but I see it more as she is taking a similar role taken in How beautiful you are.

Anyway, I'll try to translate the full lyrics. Let's wait for tenshi no hane version for a polished translation :D

----------------------------
どうして自分は周りと違う？
どうしたらみんなと同じになれる？


違うことは悪いことと
自分を押し殺して
隠れるように馴染めるような
道を探していた


ねえbaby, just the way you are
変わらないでいい
世界中がもしもNoと言ったって


ねえbaby, just the way you are
僕は君の側で
君が君でいることの素晴らしさを
伝え続ける


誰かより偉いわけじゃない
誰かより劣ってもいない


Wow-wow- yeah yeah
Wow-wow- yeah yeah
Wow-wow- yeah yeah


ねえbaby, just the way you are
変わらないでいい
世界中がもしもNoと言ったって


ねえbaby, just the way you are
僕は君の側で
君が君でいることの素晴らしさを
伝え続ける


素晴らしさを伝え続ける

----------------------------

Why am I different from the others?
How can I become the same to everyone?

"Different" means "bad"
so I 've been looking for a way to fit in,
while hiding and suffocating my (true) self.

Hey, babe, just the way you are
It's ok to not change
Even If the whole world would say “NO”

Hey, babe, just the way you are
I'll be by your side
continuing to tell you
about the amazingness of ‘you being you’.

It doesn't mean that you are better than anyone else
but you aren't worse than anyone else either.

Wow-wow- yeah yeah
Wow-wow- yeah yeah
Wow-wow- yeah yeah

Hey, babe, just the way you are
It's ok to not change
Even if the whole world would say “NO”

Hey, babe, just the way you are
I'll be by your side
continuing to tell you
about the amazingness of ‘you being you’.

continuing to tell you about (your) amazingness

It kinda reminds me of my crisis with "How beautiful you are" PV hahaha
While it has some scenes and couples that fits the theme, Ayu seems like a barbie doll on it. :P
It would be so much powerful if she had more "grounded" outfits like in "Mad World" PV.
I kinda expected that she had her own Christina Aguilera's Beautiful hahaha

Lol seems TA finally lost it xD
People must’ve been complaining a lot about the video.

To which I say… when you seemingly only have yes-men around you, there’s always the chance that eventually you’ll alienate your fan base to the point where they can’t hold it in anymore.

I haven’t understood Ayu’s motivation for things for awhile now, so I’m generally happy that people are starting to be vocal (outside of the foreign fan base). *in regards to constructive criticism. I don’t agree with just bashing people or what have you and being mean.

She can do what she wants, but we’ll react accordingly lol.

I’m not one to complain directly through TA though.
Luckily I have this forum for that haha.

I like the PV unintentionally shows LV store for most of the time.

How many cosmetic interventions had she done? People like to repeat that while taking official material as proof. She also doesn't edit pictures herself and are you forgetting about 2018, when she was quite chubby? Japanese people online will call her fat for being muscular.

This better be a joke post.

Why would it be a joke post?

Constructive criticism is important, and Ayu doesn’t seem like she’s used a creative team in a long time. That is, it seems like she does a lot of stuff on her own. That’s a huge thing to take on. But at the same time, when you don’t have a team around you trying to guide you or make recommendations, that position is then going to fall on the fans.

I do not agree with bashing and being mean, but constructive criticism is always something I’ll agree with, no matter the situation.

I agree with this. I'm always believing that she has been doing things/making decision on her own or based on her own thinking for some years. That's why I feel many of her works (be it costume, video, fashion sense...) in the last 5 years I will say lack a sense of professionalism. Sometimes I suspect it's Avex's problem too... Anyway I hope she empowers more to creditable professional creative team or marketing team when producing her music and concert.

the lyrics is amazing, the pv is interesting too but..

i'm sorry. but the video is meh...

bad angle, bad acting, doesn't elevate the song.

Nice song but totally forgettable for me. PV looks like a uncreative last-minute work.
Anyway, I'm really looking forward to her new album. Mask, Summer Again and Nonfiction are great songs imo

Just the way you are is pretty much exactly what I didn't want it to be, but suspected it would be. A generic ballad. It is listenable, but forgettable. It doesn't have her baby voice at least which I do appreciate. The lyrics and message are great, and I do also appreciate her having a person with a different body type than what is considered attractive in Japan, but I think we should be passed this type of thing by now. I feel like different body types should just be normalized and represented without having to put them in a whole video centered around how "you're beautiful too just how you are!". I feel like there should just be inclusion naturally, without making a big deal about how you're including someone seen as "different".

For example, why can't a larger person be featured in a dance song or something fun? Why does the song have to exclusively be about accepting themselves how they are? But that might just be me nitpicking.

I did not get. Did it lead to something?
The song worked as a background music for me when I washed the dishes. Robotic vocals and reverb stood out to me, but I appreciated her lower than usual voice, much preferable over the baby voice. Did not buy that message coming from a glamorous diva.

Wow, I really like Just the way you are. I love the lower voice, it really fits the song. I can feel the emotion in the song. I'm not a huge ballad fan but this nearly made me tear up. Beautiful lyrics too.